1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to eyewear and more particularly pertains to vision obstructing eyewear for obstructing an individual's field of vision.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Training for certain sports can be difficult when game conditions cannot be easily duplicated. For example, practicing jump shots in basketball would require a defensive player to obstruct the shooter's view of the basket—that is, to reproduce game conditions. Another person having a similar skill level is not always available to practice with the shooter. Furthermore, by requiring one person to act as the defensive player, the amount of time that both players can spend practicing jump shots is reduced by half.
The use of vision obstructing eyewear to aid in sports training is known in the prior art. For example, alignment eyeglasses are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,510 which may be utilized to aid a wearer, especially athletes or participants in sports, to diminish the input from his oculo-vestibular reflexes and provide immediate visual feedback concerning alignment. The eyeglasses have one or more substantially straight, visible transparent lines on one or both of the eye pieces which appear to be superimposed on the view through the line or lines. The lines enable the wearer of the eyeglasses to readily check alignment of the body, head, hands, and/or a held object with a viewed object, e.g. a golf ball, a pitched baseball, a bowling pin, a basketball, etc.
Other known prior art devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,741,611; 4,953,967; 5,162,823; 5,076,681; 5,521,653; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 273,684.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents restrict vision in predictable patterns. They do not disclose vision obstructing eyewear that mechanically vary the vision obstructing medium randomly or in a programmed manner to reproduce actual game conditions and aid in training.
In these respects, the vision obstructing eyewear according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provide an improved apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of variably obstructing an individual's field of vision.